Brinian
The Brinian (pronounced Bre-nee-an) are a pale skinned race that are light gray to pale blue in color. They have a thick spiny mane that might be described as hair that sometimes extends out to the shoulders and down the center of the back. The Brinian have 4 black slits, 2 on each side of the face, that act at their sensory organs and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Homeworld This primitive race of beings, are commonly found on many alien worlds that have ancient ruins. They have been found across the Galaxy on dozens of worlds in small tribes. Government The Brinian are mostly tribal, living in homes built in trees and caves. Each tribe is lead by a Three Eldars who are considered the wisest, strongest, and magic. Each tribal leader, as a spiritual leader, possesses the ability to communicate with the stars. That roughly translates as “Godtongue”. There is a group of Brinian who are currently trying to establish interstellar voice for the Brinian race. If they become recognized as a Star faring race they will be required to choose a homeworld. The biggest problem with this is that the worlds that the Brinian occupy are scattered throughout the territories of several other races. Allegiances There are allegiances between tribes on a single world, in most cases there is a “Binding” where a male and female from each tribe, most commonly the chiefs offspring, are tied together smeared with blood to attract deadly predators and then tossed into the wilds. It is unclear what happens beyond that but regardless of the out come both tribes are united ether through a marriage between the two or are bonded through the loss of their own blood. Enemies Like their alliances there are enemies of other Brinian tribes. Wars happen from time to time and seem to mostly happen over territory and religious beliefs. Wars typically are permitted by their Gods to last one cycle. If no resolve can come by then both Chiefs must enter into a Trial Combat, a One on One to the death. The winning tribe is given 5 females, after the women have given birth to one son each they are returned to their village. Religion The religion revolves around two gods “Degin, creator of the Stars” and his Sister “Ninnata, giver of life”, who were once united and then, after a betrayal became angry and started a great war that burned the heavens. There are two different religions that are followed, which seems to be the major cause for all disputes among the Tribes. One sect, “The Ocura” believe that they were created by their gods, and the Brinian offended their Gods and were cast into darkness. This is all just a test and when they have proven themselves they will be welcome back to the palace of the gods that looks down on their world. The other sect “The Degica” believe their God “Degin” created them as warriors to defeat his sister “Ninnata”. Locked in battle the two gods drifted farther and farther away until their light exploded and created the sea of stars. One day their Gods will return and they will be rewarded for their loyalty. All Brinian that have traveled the stars universally abandon all religion. Scientists believe there is something in the Brinien physiology that makes the visual understanding of space travel mutually exclusive from religious belief. Language The Brinian dialect is a coarse set of one syllable words that are spoken in certain order to create meaning. For example: Bri = Son or Child Ni = Belonging to or Owned by An = Stars Pronounced with a space between each syllable their name is literally translated “Bri-ni-an” means “Children of the Stars”. Their written language is performed with a series of symbols to represent each word. Their symbols are represented by sharp hard shapes with lots of straight edges and no curved or soft shapes. The Brinian are capable of speaking other languages, and have communicated with many travelers who have taken the time to learn their language. The Brinian have become common enough that their language has been entered into the Translators. Diet The Brinian are carnivores and Cannibals. They think that eating their enemy is a source of strength and knowledge. Most of the Brinian who travel beyond their home world know not to eat any sentient beings who are killed, but it still happens. Mating Males and females copulate. Females carry to term after 7 months. And normally only deliver a single child, although it is not unheard of for there to be twins. Triplets are almost unheard of, making the event a huge Religious ceremony. The average Child develops to full maturity in 15 years. Death The Average lifespan of the Brinian is 50 years. Death is a very excepted thing. Believing that they return to their gods when they die it is generally a good thing. The body is set on an elevated platform and set ablaze, sending the body to the stars. Economy Barter is mostly what the Brinian uses as currency. But precious metals are prized and several Tribes have been known to use irregular metal coins frequently made of gold. The Brinian who leave their worlds have learned the value of precious metals and stones. They prefer coin over digital currencies. Technology Most of the Brinian Tribes are locked to the equivalent of the late 1800’s, some manufacturing, some industrialization, some gas powered weapons, some limited vehicles. But most still relay on animals to pull carts and for personally transport. Military Their ground forces are limited to Cavalry and infantry with melee weapons. Some tribes have enough manufacturing to have armies with gas powered rifles and a few gas powered vehicles. In space the Brinian are truly only there because someone brought them to the stars. No Brinean tribe has the knowledge or resources to maintain a starship. History It has been theorized that the Brinian were once more intelligent then they are now, even space faring, but something happened to make them regress back to a more primitive state. A Brinian Grave was discovered by an archeological group, and they found the remnants of some form of alien machinery attached to the bones and placed inside the head of some of the oldest bones…dating back over 8,000 years. It is hypothesized that this race was some type of servant race to the Ancients.